Piedmont Comes Of Age

by Antonio Galloni

This year, I left my tastings of the wines of Piedmont energized and excited. Simply put, I have never encountered so many delicious wines from so many different producers. Of course, there are always varying levels of quality based on the characteristics of specific vintages (see 2008 Dolcetto below), but the simple fact is that Piedmont’s wines have never been better and more consistent across the board.

In order to understand what is happening in Piedmont it is instructive to look at the last 20-25 years of history. Like many regions, modern technology had a profound impact on the quality of wines beginning in the 1980s, with the widespread adoption of temperature control in fermentation, the reduction of fermentation/maceration times and the introduction of French oak barrels, which also led to shorter periods of oak aging. Many of the wines that brought attention to Piedmont in the 1980s and 1990s were made in the so-called modern style that among other things relied heavily on the use of French oak barrels. Lost in the polemics around shorter fermentation times and French oak was that growers were also paying much more attention to limiting yields in their vineyards and to cleanliness in their cellars. In the latter half of the 1990s, Piedmont’s growers made a number of profound wines, but many of these wines reflected a style that was at times extreme in its search for color, concentration and size.

Over the last few years, however, producers have matured and the region has begun to witness a fascinating convergence of styles. The more modernist producers have largely backed off the new oak, gradually lengthened fermentation times and moved away from excessively low yields. At the same time, traditional producers have raised quality by limiting yields and paying more attention to replacing their old barrels. Perhaps even more importantly, all of the work that growers have put into their impeccably farmed vineyards over the last 25 years is finally starting to come through in a very big way now that the plants are of a certain age and the veneer of excessive intervention in the cellar has been peeled off. As a result, overall quality, purity of varietal expression and consistency in Piedmont have never been higher.

Barolo and Barbaresco have often been difficult wines for the general wine-drinking populace to embrace because the tannins can be formidable when the wines are young. That is increasingly not the case. Advances in viticultural and oenological practices and generally more favorable weather conditions are putting producers in a strong position to make delicious wines that can be appreciated upon release. Young Nebbiolo is much more approachable than it has  ever been, which means that as consumers encounter these wines for the first time they are much more likely to fall in love with them. The number of terrific Langhe Nebbiolos and, to a lesser extent, Nebbiolos from Alba bears this out. Today, it is difficult to find a bad bottle of wine in Piedmont. To be sure, young Barolos and Barbarescos still tend to close down in bottle, but not in any way that is meaningfully different than the finest grand cru Burgundies or top Bordeaux. I am increasingly convinced that within the next 10-15 years the appreciation for Piedmont’s top wines will explode globally as consumers become more familiar with the wines. Most of the very finest wines are made in small quantities of a just a few hundred cases, so it is likely that prices will eventually have to catch up, even if that will take a while given the current state of the global economy. Readers with the financial resources to do so should take advantage of the current weakness in the market and the abundance of high quality vintages that are or soon will be available to build a collection of fine Barolo and Barbaresco at what very well might look like bargain prices in the future.

And Now, For The Not So Good News....